Reflections on 2019 & Dreams for the New Year

I chose a word for 2o19 which I hadn't really ever done before. My word was CULTIVATE. Cultivate, when you look up the definition, means "to acquire or develop. I had dreams at the beginning of this year of growing both in myself and in my business. I didn't know, of course, that part of that development meant also literally growing a little one inside of me. That was a surprise, but a very lovely and welcomed one :).I did one pretty incredible thing that helped me take on this particular word at the beginning of the new year. I hired a coach for myself. I wrote a whole blog post about this and why I decided to hire my own coach that's worth checking out. But a big part of me taking this step for myself was because I felt God calling me to cultivate something new.Again, I didn't know what this meant. But I knew that a coach for my own life would be a good place to start. I won't go into all that I wrote in that past post about hiring a coach, but I just can't stress enough how amazing it is to have someone walking life beside you, someone who doesn't have a personal connection with you but can be an outsider peering in and giving wisdom. Thinking back on this past year, a few major things happened...

I hired a coach for my own personal growth & development.

I dropped a day at my nursing job to free up some space and time to do other things I love… ie working with amazing clients like you!

I picked up another job as a Barre3 instructor and went through the whole certification process which was a journey of itself.

I started working for and partnering with Beauty Counter as one of their consultants.

I got pregnant.

I co-founded the Embracing Balance Podcast.

And these are just the more tangible things. There were also so many mental shifts and changes over the last year…

I grew in confidence in myself as a business owner and expert at coaching women.

I found so much peace with changes that went on and still at peace with not fully knowing what the future holds.

I made choices to do things that fill me and play to my strengths.

I spent time with friends who bring so much joy to my life.

I love reflecting over the past year and just seeing how much God has done in my life and what He’s taught me. And now, with a new year approaching, I love to think about goals, or you could call them resolutions, that I have for myself.

Just like last year, I’m choosing a word to represent my year. And for 2020, my word is PRESENCE.

I chose the word presence because when I picture myself living each day in 2020, I picture someone who is present. And with presence, I see someone who is at peace, living in each and every moment, and doing things to work towards the future she wants without getting caught up in the future, if that makes sense.

There are a few things that I hope for with the new year. I thought I’d share them with you and as some say, there’s something to speaking the desires of our hearts into existence.

1. I WANT TO WORK ON MY SPIRITUAL HEALTH, MY FAITH, AND MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

I know to do this, I’m going to have to be diligent with spending time first thing in the morning reading my bible and/or devotional, praying, and journaling.

2. I WANT TO BE BETTER ABOUT CONSISTENCY.

With this one I mostly think about consistency with my business. But even in other areas of my life like reaching out to friends I haven’t talked to in a while and setting aside time for meal planning when I’m not feeling rushed. So I want to plan for planning, if that makes sense, as opposed to winging things which is sometimes just how it goes.

3. I WANT TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT.

This goes back to my word for the year. I want to really learn more about what this looks like and how it can help me reach my goals.

4. I WANT TO DO MY BEST IN ALL AREAS THAT I AM COMMITTING TO.

I have a lot of passions and sometimes that leads me to filling up my plate with too many things. I want to passionately pursue a few things really well. Not sure what this is going to look like specifically…whether I’ll feel good with things once baby comes or if I’ll need to choose the things that most light me up. We will see!

5. I WANT TO ENJOY THIS NEW SEASON OF MOTHERHOOD.

I have no idea what to expect, but I’m so excited to be a mom. It’s something I’ve dreamt of for a long time and now that I’m here I want to be all in!

Ok, those are my reflections and thoughts on the New Year. I’d love to hear from you… do you have a word for 2020? Have you taken time yet to journal or process about the past year and space to dream up the future?